Financial position of banks operating in Egypt climbs to EGP 27.661trn in Q2 2026: CBE

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has revealed that the total financial position of banks operating in the domestic market, excluding the CBE itself, reached EGP 27.661trn in June 2026, compared with EGP 26.887trn in March 2026, an increase of EGP 774bn.

In a recent report, the CBE said that, on the assets side, banks’ cash balances stood at around EGP 232.762bn, balances held with other domestic banks amounted to approximately EGP 2.873trn, while balances held with banks abroad reached around EGP 1.951trn.

The CBE added that lending and discount balances for customers stood at approximately EGP 11.652trn, while banks’ securities portfolios and investments in Treasury bills amounted to EGP 8.136trn. Other assets, which the CBE did not detail, totalled around EGP 2.814trn.

On the liabilities side, the CBE said banks’ capital amounted to around EGP 739.164bn, reserves stood at EGP 1.237trn, and provisions totalled approximately EGP 751.028bn.

Banks’ liabilities to other domestic banks amounted to around EGP 1.916trn, while liabilities to banks abroad stood at EGP 647.092bn. Total deposits reached approximately EGP 17.112trn, while bonds and long-term loans amounted to EGP 1.058trn. Other liabilities, which the CBE did not detail, totalled around EGP 4.199trn.

Non-performing loans

The CBE said the ratio of non-performing loans (NPLs) at banks declined to 1.8% in June 2026, compared with 1.9% in March 2026.

The ratio stood at 1.5% of total loans at the 10 largest banks and 1.2% at the five largest banks.

The CBE noted that banks had set aside provisions covering 87.6% of their total non-performing loans in June 2026, compared with 88% in March 2026. The coverage ratio reached 90.6% at the 10 largest banks and 93.4% at the five largest banks.

“The provisions established by banks to cover doubtful debts amounted to around EGP 751.028bn in June 2026. The 10 largest banks accounted for EGP 630.057bn of these provisions, while provisions at the five largest banks amounted to EGP 570.973bn,” the CBE said.

It added that banks had built up reserves worth EGP 1.237trn, of which the 10 largest banks accounted for EGP 939.741bn, while reserves at the five largest banks stood at around EGP 793.748bn.

Private-sector lending

The CBE revealed that the private sector’s share of total loans extended by banks to their customers increased to 41.7% in June 2026, compared with 40.5% in March 2026.

The private sector accounted for 35.4% of total loans at the 10 largest banks and 31.4% at the five largest banks.

According to the CBE, banks’ lending and discount balances stood at around EGP 11.652trn in June 2026, compared with EGP 11.390trn in March 2026, an increase of approximately EGP 262bn.

Lending and discount balances at the 10 largest banks amounted to EGP 9.171trn, while those at the five largest banks reached EGP 8.460trn.

Loan-to-deposit ratio

The CBE reported that the loan-to-deposit ratio at banks increased to 68.9% in the first half of 2026, compared with 68.4% in the first quarter.

The ratio reached 70% at the 10 largest banks and 73.9% at the five largest banks.

The CBE said the local-currency loan-to-deposit ratio increased to 62.2%, compared with 60.3%. The ratio stood at 60.3% at the 10 largest banks and 62.3% at the five largest banks.

By contrast, the foreign-currency loan-to-deposit ratio declined to 92.5%, compared with 92.9%. The ratio reached 104.3% at the 10 largest banks and 118.3% at the five largest banks.

Customer deposits

The CBE revealed that total deposits at banks operating in the Egyptian market increased to approximately EGP 17.112trn in June 2026, compared with EGP 16.884trn in March 2026, an increase of around EGP 228bn.

The CBE said the 10 largest banks held approximately EGP 13.259trn of these deposits, accounting for 77.483% of the total, while deposits at the five largest banks amounted to around EGP 11.535trn, representing a share of 67.408%.

The deposits-to-assets ratio at banks stood at 62% in June 2026, compared with 62.9% in March 2026. The ratio reached 61% at the 10 largest banks and 59.6% at the five largest banks.

In the same context, the CBE noted that the average actual liquidity ratio in local currency at banks declined to 38.7% in June 2026, compared with 42.3% in March 2026. The ratio stood at 37.7% at the 10 largest banks and 35.3% at the five largest banks.

By contrast, the average actual liquidity ratio in foreign currencies increased to 76.2%, compared with 73.4%. The ratio reached 78.6% at the 10 largest banks and 78.3% at the five largest banks.

Securities and Treasury bills

The CBE revealed that investments by banks operating in the domestic market in securities and Treasury bills declined to around EGP 8.136trn in June 2026, compared with EGP 8.618trn in March 2026, a decrease of approximately EGP 482bn.

The CBE said investments by the 10 largest banks in these instruments declined to around EGP 6.340trn, compared with EGP 6.826trn, while investments by the five largest banks fell to approximately EGP 5.405trn, compared with EGP 5.854trn.

According to the CBE, banks’ securities portfolios, excluding Treasury bills, declined to 19.6% of total bank assets in June 2026, compared with 21.2% in March 2026.

The ratio stood at 20.5% at the 10 largest banks and 21.2% at the five largest banks.

Capital base

The CBE said banks’ capital adequacy ratio, measured as the capital base relative to risk-weighted assets, increased to 19.4% in June 2026, compared with 18.5% in March 2026.

The ratio reached 18.9% at the 10 largest banks and 18.4% at the five largest banks.

The CBE noted that the Tier 1 capital ratio, measured against risk-weighted assets, increased to 16.4% in June, compared with 15.5% in March. The ratio stood at 15.6% at the 10 largest banks and 15.1% at the five largest banks.

According to the CBE, the Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio, measured against risk-weighted assets, reached 14.7% in June, compared with 13.8% in March.

The ratio stood at 13.9% at the 10 largest banks and 13.2% at the five largest banks.

Banks’ leverage ratio reached 7.8% in June, compared with 7.6% in March. The ratio stood at 7.4% at the 10 largest banks and 7.1% at the five largest banks.

According to the CBE, the prescribed minimum leverage ratio must not be less than 3%.

Net open foreign-currency positions

In another development, the CBE revealed that net open foreign-currency positions increased to 2.4% of the total capital base of banks operating in the Egyptian market in June 2026, compared with -1.6% in March.

The CBE said the ratio stood at 3% at the 10 largest banks and 3.3% at the five largest banks.

It stressed that the total surplus or deficit in foreign-currency positions must not exceed 20% of the capital base.